Building Bridges
by Nikayla
Summary: When Brax decides to step in and stop VJ from being bullied he is about to uncover a shocking secret, what is it and how will it affect him? this isn't a Leah and Brax story by the way. Leah just features in it.
1. Chapter 1

**As soon as I saw the new storyline involving the new kid called Jett I couldn't help adding my own personal touch so here it goes.**

Brax pulled up slowly outside the address Leah had given him. Brax and Leah had decided it was probably a good idea to speak to the parents of the child who was bullying VJ at school. Brax suggested seen as the boy came from Mangrove River it would be better if he spoke to them.

Brax watched curiously as the Jett (the boy in question) played soccer on the street with a few other kids. He waited for a few minutes before getting out of his Ute. As soon as he started walking to the door of the house he realised the kids knew who he was. Brax was quite well known in Mangrove River and usually in that was a good thing but in this case he wasn't so sure.

Brax knocked firmly on the door and waited a few moments, there wasn't a reply so he knocked again "If you're looking for my mum she is probably round the back" Jett interrupted.

"Thanks mate" Brax replied before walking round the side of the house towards the back garden the first thing he noticed was the line full of washing and the kids toys scattered around the yard "Hello" Brax called as he looked around the garden.

It wasn't until he waked through the washing that he noticed the barn and stables right at the bottom; it was there he saw her.

A woman who had blown him away almost 13 years ago and she could still do it now.

This woman was built like Leah, with familiar hair colour and skin tone, she was wearing a pair of short denim shorts and a red and grey checked shirt, her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, she was also wearing green Wellington boots.

As Brax walked towards the woman he was shocked when he realised she was a lot skinnier then he remembered, as he got closer the woman turned around. As soon as she saw his face she dropped the bucket she was holding, a load of food spilled all over the floor and one of the horses had started to eat it "Oh my god" the woman gasped as she continued to stare at Brax.

"Hello Courtney" Brax replied as equally as shocked to see her "How have you been?"

Courtney just came out of the stable and locked the door behind her, Brax followed her into the barn "Courtney please" Brax tried but Courtney just ignored his pleas.

"You should go" she finally managed.

"What that's it after all this time that's all you've got to say to me?" Brax frowned, he could see by the look on her face Courtney was furious at his remark.

"Oh believe me I have plenty I need to say to you, but I don't think you can handle it" Courtney replied harshly.

"Look I'm not here for an argument I came you talk about your son" Brax explained. As soon as he said the word son he got Courtney's attention.

"What do you want to talk about him for, what do you know?" she snapped defensively. Normally this would have rang alarm bells in Brax's head but on this occasion he was more concerned about sorting VJ's bullying issues.

"He has been bullying the son of a friend of mine and I was hoping you could have a word with him" Brax said softly hoping Courtney wasn't the same quick tempered girl he remembered.

"Well he obviously needs to man up a bit, god Brax since when did you talk to parents about 'issues' your normally the first to deal with this sort of thing yourself" Courtney reminded him of his old ways. The ways he lived by before he met Charlie.

"People told me you had gone soft, but I didn't believe it for a second but maybe they were on to something aye" Courtney answered smugly.

"Courtney please, I want this sorting Jett can't keep behaving like this, don't you discipline him" Brax argued.

"Don't you dare criticize me on raising my son, I have done a fine job so far" Courtney spat furiously.

"If you call bullying fine" Brax replied harshly.

"Jett isn't a bully, he is just finding his personality" Courtney defended her son.

"What by hitting out, this isn't going to go away you need to talk to him about this" Brax snapped.

"Fine" Courtney frowned, Brax could see she was not happy about his arrival so decided to leave her to it.

Courtney followed Brax out and watched him drive away in his Ute before turning to Jett "Hey whoever you are picking on at school it stops right now do you hear me" Courtney scolded.

Jett just rolled his eyes at his mum's warning "I mean it Jett, I don't want him coming round here again do you understand" Courtney added sternly before walking away.

**Not a very long first chapter but I just wanted to put it out there. This won't be a very long story. And I'm sorry to all you Chax fans but Charlie has died in this story.**


	2. Doing the Maths

So did you speak to them?" Leah asked curiously as she watched Brax approach the diner counter.

"Yeah, well I spoke to his mum anyway" Brax replied.

"What did she say?" Leah wondered.

"She said she'll talk to him"

"Oh well that's good isn't it" Leah smiled and Brax nodded

"Yeah I guess" he replied.

"Aw thanks Brax, I know this'll mean a lot to VJ" Leah turned and walked back into he kitchen.

Brax still couldn't get Leah's recent confession out of his head. Leah had declared her love for him just recently and seeing Leah like this made Brax wonder if getting involved in VJ's problems was helping the situation with Leah, the last thing Brax wanted was to give her the wrong idea. Especially when it had taken him so long to persuade her he wasn't interested in the first place.

As Brax thought about Leah he started to think about Courtney and what she had said to him. That was when it dawned on Brax, just how anxious she seemed when he mentioned Jett. He then started to think about how old Jett was.

This then led him to thinking about the relationship he had shared with Courtney, and how that relationship ended just before the time Jett would have been born. Then finally it hit him "Shit" Brax sighed as he put his hands behind his head.

Why hadn't he thought about this sooner, surely if this was true then Courtney would have said something? Maybe she did when she got all defensive at the mention of her son.

This couldn't be happening Brax thought as he sat and tried to do all the maths.

Brax had worked out in his head that if what he was thinking was true then Courtney must have been pregnant when she left Mangrove River with her mum and dad. If that was the case then that meant that there was a good chance Jett was his son.

Brax knew he had to talk about this with Courtney; he quickly stood up just as Leah walked out of the kitchen "Hey where are you going? I was gonna asked you if you wanted any dinner" Leah said.

"Er no I'm good, I gotta go" Brax replied shakily as he rushed out of the door and towards his Ute.

He pulled up again outside the house he had been at earlier and watched for a few minutes. The children who were out on the street when he first arrived had now gone inside. Brax walked to the front door of Courtney's house and knocked gently

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"I'm so sorry I have had to call you into school on a weekend Mrs Jenkins" Gina apologised sincerely.

"Its Miss actually" Courtney corrected Gina "And it's fine, I don't work weekends anyway"

"The reason I have called you here is because we have had a lot of complaints recently about thefts, and people are saying that they have witnessed Jett…" Gina started to explain why she had called Courtney.

"I don't believe this how many times have I told you to stay out of trouble?" Courtney snapped at Jett "As if I haven't got enough on at the minute without you bringing the police into our house"

"I don't think it will come to that Miss Jenkins, we just want to give Jett a chance to see the error of his ways" Gina smiled.

"Yeh well I appreciate you bringing this to my attention Mrs Palmer and I can promise you Jett will be a different boy on Monday, won't you" Courtney frowned at Jett before dragging him out of Gina's office.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Brax wasn't really sure why he was waiting in the Ute for Courtney to come home; she probably wouldn't even talk to him any way. But Brax had to know if what he had worked out in his head was the truth, he looked out of his wing mirror and spotted Courtney's car coming up the road.

"What does he want?" Courtney frowned as she parked in her drive way. Brax got out of his Ute and walked towards Courtney and Jett "Jett go inside" Courtney said to Jett who hurried to the door unlocked it and went inside.

"What do you want Brax?" she asked when she saw Jett was safely inside.

"Is he mine?" Brax asked

"What?" Courtney was horrified how could he have worked this out?

"Is he my kid" Brax asked again. "I've done the maths Courtney and you must have been pregnant when you left"

"Well that's where you're wrong I got pregnant just after I left" Courtney lied "So you can relax now you are off the hook"

Although Courtney knew Brax was right, he was Jett's father. She had no intention admitting this to Brax. The last thing Courtney wanted was for Brax to wade in and take Jett away from her.

Courtney was pretty sure as soon as Brax realised she was ill, that is exactly what he would do. Trouble is Courtney didn't know the new Brax, the man Charlie had turned him into.

Courtney was just scared of what the old Brax was capable of.

**Ok thoughts please. Thanks to NZGirl25 for being my first reviewer, love always Nikki x x**


	3. The Truth

As Brax cleared some tables outside Angelo's he saw Jett walking past, Brax was shocked to see Jett taking some money off a table that a customer had left, before running away. "Hey" Brax yelled as he ran after Jett.

The chase led Brax onto the beach where thanks to John Palmer he finally caught him "Do you want me to call the police?" John asked Brax.

"Please don't call the police" Jett begged "I did it for my mum"

Brax told John not to bother the police and then led Jett to his Ute "You're mum told you to do this?" Brax wondered.

"No but she needs the money, she's really sick" Jett trailed off as Brax put him in the Ute.

"If this is just a get out of jail free card its pretty lame" Brax frowned as he drove to Mangrove River.

"Its not I swear my mum really is sick" Jett replied honestly

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Courtney was in the garden when Brax pulled up "Jett you're supposed to be at school" she snapped when she saw her son "What's he done?" she asked Brax nervously.

"He's been stealing from my customers" Brax explained causing Courtney to clip Jett around the back of the head.

"I did it for you mum, you need the money" Jett explained his actions to a stunned Courtney.

"Get inside" Courtney snapped, Jett didn't argue he just went inside the house.

"So it is true then, Jett says your sick?" Brax wondered what was wrong with his ex.

"Look I appreciate you bringing him home but this really has nothing to do with you" Courtney snapped as she walked towards her front door.

"I just wanna help" Brax called after Courtney, who quickly turned to face Brax.

"What" she cried "Since when has Darryl Braxton ever helped anyone other than himself" she added as she walked back to him.

"I'm not the same guy you knew back then" Brax tried to explain himself to Courtney "People change"

"Really well I find that hard to believe some how" Courtney frowned, she suddenly felt dizzy and started to topple sideways but Brax caught her.

"Hey" he gasped as he grabbed her tiny frame "Come on lets take you inside"

Brax helped Courtney inside her house and helped her onto the sofa "There you go, how do you feel now?" he asked.

"Ok" Courtney was shocked; this act of kindness from Brax had totally thrown her. This kind of behaviour was something she was definitely not used to.

"Mum are you ok?" A frightened 12 year old called as he ran into the lounge.

"Yes mate I'm fine, just go to room for a while, I need to talk to Brax" Courtney reassured her son. She watched him walk into his bedroom before turning back to face Brax.

"Do you want me to call someone for you?" Brax wondered as he saw the paleness of Courtney's face. She responded by shaking her head.

"No there is no-one else, just me and him" she replied sadly.

"Well how about a doctor?" Brax asked as he took his phone out of his pocket.

"No they can't help me either" Courtney replied "Jett was telling the truth, I am sick"

Brax sat gently beside Courtney when he saw the tears in her eyes "I have cervical cancer" Courtney whispered "The doctors have given me 6 months to a year"

Brax was horrified he had no idea what to say next, luckily for him Courtney spoke again "I work as a waitress in Yabbie Creek, but as soon as the doctor gave me the prognosis I decided to have chemo to slow things down and to give me as much time as I could with my son" Courtney sniffed "The treatment made me too sick to work and no work means no income, which now means I have bills and a mortgage to pay. I have horses that need feeding, a twelve year old son who is never full and constantly grows and medical expenses that never seem to end…"

Suddenly the lights went off as did the TV and the music coming from Jett's bedroom "And now no electricity" she sighed. Brax thought for a second before speaking.

"How much to switch it back on?" Brax wondered

"107 dollars" Courtney replied, Brax was surprised by how little the amount was for "It might as well be a million when you haven't got any money"

Brax stood up and took his wallet out the back pocket of his jeans "Here" he smiled as he handed Courtney $200.

"I can't accept that" Courtney looked horrified.

"Why not?" Brax replied "Look, call it a back payment" he added causing Courtney's head to flick up.

"What?" she wondered curiously.

"Jett's my son right" Brax smiled "You've always been a bad liar Court"

"Yes he's your son" Courtney finally admitted.

"Take this then" Brax gently leant forward and put the $200 dollars inside Courtney's hand "I told you I'm not the same bloke you knew back then, please let me help you"

Courtney was completely taken aback by this turn around, she had never in all the time she was with Brax, seen this side to him. He was always so angry and selfish he never loved or respected anyone but himself. Now here he was offering her money to help look after their son, what the hell had happened to him?

"What and there won't be any comeback from this later? No twisted payback ideas" Courtney asked nervously.

"No this is just me giving you money for our son" Brax replied.

Courtney nodded and took the money from him cautiously "There is one thing I would like though" Brax added causing Courtney to stop what she was doing and look straight at him "I'd really like the chance to get to know my son" Brax smiled.

Courtney sighed relief "Yeh ok, but I'll have to talk to him about who you are first"

"Sure here's my number" Brax said as he used a pen and paper off the coffee table to jot down his mobile number "Call me when you have spoken to him" he added as he handed Courtney the piece of paper.

Brax left the house just as Jett was walking back into the lounge "Oh my god what's that?" he asked when he saw the money in his mum's shaky hand "Mum who was that guy?"

"Sit down a minute baby I need to tell you something" Courtney smiled as she patted the sofa beside her.

"Is everything ok mum, is it your cancer?" Jett seemed scared of what his mum was going to tell him.

"No sweetie it's nothing to do with that, it's about the man who gave me this" Courtney had dreaded this conversation but she knew Jett had a right to know the truth. Courtney couldn't help thinking that if Brax was telling the truth and had really changed then maybe when she had gone, she wouldn't be leaving Jett completely alone in this world. Maybe Brax would step up to take care of him.

"What about him?" Jett asked.

"Jett honey that man…he…he's your dad" Courtney stuttered.

**How do you think Jett will react? Please review and I will update the next chapter quicker. **

**Also to all my Teacher's Pet fans I have to say I am a little disappointed that I have had no reviews at all for my final chapter. **

**I have been working on the sequel and am hoping to put it up later but I would really like to know what you thought to the final chapter of Teacher's Pet so please review**

**Much love as always Nikki x x x**


	4. He's my son

Courtney flinched as she waited for Jett's reply, she had a feeling how he would react, Jett just stood up and stormed out of the house "baby wait" Courtney quickly stood and followed her son.

Unfortunately Brax was still sat outside in his Ute, he was tying to get his head around the fact he had a son. Brax's head shot up when he heard the front door of Courtney's house slam shut and an angry looking 13 year old was stomping towards him "Jett don't you dare" Courtney yelled as she followed him.

Jett had now picked up a horseshoe in his hand, he launched it at the windscreen of Brax's Ute before turning and running into the field. Brax quickly got out of his Ute "Oh my god I'm so sorry" Courtney exclaimed as she assessed the damage.

"Nah its fine" Brax replied as he looked at his shattered windscreen "I take it you told him?" Brax assumed as he turned to look at the field Jett had disappeared into.

"Yeah" Courtney nodded.

"Do you think I should go and talk to him?" Brax wondered.

"It might be a good idea" Courtney smiled weakly "Are you still good at climbing?"

Brax frowned at Courtney's strange question "Yeah" he nodded curiously.

"Its just he's got a tree house at the top of the field, he'll be in there" Courtney explained.

Brax turned and walked into the field he could see the tree house Courtney was talking about, Brax walked towards the tree house and started to climb up to it "Can't you read the sign no adults allowed" Jett spat angrily as Brax sat on the wooden floor of the tree house.

"Yeah well I might look like an adult on the outside, but on the inside I am a 13 year old boy, that's gotta count for something right?" Brax grinned, he could see the corner of Jett's mouth creep up into a half smile but Jett shook it away stubbornly "Look I know your mum told you bout me…"

"What and you came to lay the law down and tell me what to do?" Jett snapped.

"No mate, I came to tell you that I'm sorry that I haven't been around. I know what its like to grow up without a dad, it sucks" Brax replied causing Jett to pay attention "But I swear to you I never even knew you existed, because if I did I would never have let you go through what I went through as a kid"

"It's not that bad being on my own with mum, she does her best and everything was fine until…" Jett for some reason had started to open up to this stranger.

"Until she got sick?" Brax interrupted "Look I know this must be weird for you finding out about me like this"

"Yeah just a bit" Jett laughed a little as he relaxed around Brax.

"Look I'm not gonna force you into anything, I just want you to now I'm here" Brax replied.

"What and that's it?" Jett frowned.

"Yeah mate that's it" Brax replied before climbing back down the tree and heading towards Courtney who was stood waiting for him.

"Well you don't have a black eye so I take it you got through to him" Courtney smiled.

"A black eye" Brax grinned.

"Yeah, you might not have been a part of his life, but that boy is definitely a Braxton" Courtney laughed "Hey listen would you mind just waiting with him while I pop out to get my electricity situation sorted"

"Yeah sure" Brax replied.

"Thanks" Courtney smiled before getting into her car.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

When Courtney got back from the shops she was shocked to see Brax and Jett sat in the lounge playing on the Xbox "Electrics back on then" she smiled as she put some groceries on the table. Brax stood up and went to help Courtney put the shopping away "Thanks again" she said quietly so Jett wouldn't hear.

"No problem, he's a good kid" Brax replied as he watched Jett continue playing.

"Yeah he is" Courtney agreed.

"Hey mum what's for dinner?" Jett called from the sofa.

Courtney just laughed "He's a growing one as well" she added causing Brax to laugh.

"Hey why don't you come to Angelo's?" Brax suggested.

"No I couldn't you have already done enough, I don't expect you to buy us dinner as well" Courtney exclaimed.

"Well it's a good job I'm not planning on buying you dinner then, it my restaurant" Brax added "Hey Jett how would you feel about going out for Pizza"

"What now?" Jett grinned "Awesome"

"Well that settles it then" Brax laughed as he turned to face Courtney who was scowling at him, Brax just shrugged and flashed her a cheeky smile "It's what the kid wants"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Leah frowned as she watched Brax walking into Angelo's with Courtney and Jett; she had been sat waiting for him for nearly an hour. As Brax walked to the bar Leah approached him "What are they doing here?"

"I invited them" Brax replied.

"Oh what so they are a charity case now" Leah spat "Is that how you plan on dealing with his bullying, by rewarding him with Pizza"

"It's not like that at all" Brax replied as he grabbed a couple of menus.

"Oh so what is this like, because from where I am sitting it looks like they are taking advantage you" Leah replied harshly. As Courtney looked up she noticed Brax was arguing with a woman.

"Wait here baby" she told Jett before walking over to Brax and Leah "Is there a problem"

"Yes" Leah replied "No" Brax also said at the same time.

"Look if me being here is a problem I don't mind going home" Courtney added.

"No it's not a problem" Brax frowned "I invited you and I want you both to stay"

"Right well I'll sit down then shall I?" Courtney smiled before walking back to the table.

"Leah what the hell is your problem" Brax snapped.

"My problem is you letting her take advantage of you like this" Leah replied jealously.

"She isn't taking advantage of me" Brax replied "She didn't ask me to do anything"

"Look I know you feel sorry for them, but honestly Brax how well do you know her?" Leah asked.

"Very well actually" Brax replied as he glanced at the table Courtney and Jett were sat at.

"What do you mean very well?" Leah asked.

"Well enough for him to be my son" Brax said causing Leah's jaw to drop.

**Please read and Review. Would love to hear your thoughts much love Nikki x x x**


	5. He's our Family

"What and you believe her?" Leah frowned.

"Yeah I have no reason not to" Brax replied harshly "Courtney wouldn't lie to me" Brax snapped before turning and walking away.

As the night progressed Leah was getting more and more jealous as she watched Brax and Courtney having fun, they were laughing and talking about old times.

After the night was over Brax drove Courtney and Jett home "Hey listen I was wondering me and VJ Patterson are working on a trail bike and I thought maybe Jett might like to help" Brax suggested.

"Oh please mum can I?" Jett interrupted excitedly.

"Jett mate go inside while I talk to Brax?" Courtney smiled at her son, who surprisingly didn't argue. He just took the key off his mum and headed to the front door.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that" Brax quickly apologised.

"No it's ok, It'll do him good to spend some time with you and VJ, it's just" Brax noticed Courtney seemed pre-occupied.

"You ok?" Brax wondered curiously

"That woman in Angelo's earlier" Courtney tried to explain how she felt "Brax I can't help feeling I'm stepping on someone's toes"

"What Leah?" Brax exclaimed "Nah Leah's just a mate"

"Are you sure she sees it that way Brax, she was giving me some quite harsh glares earlier" Courtney asked.

"Was she?" Brax seemed shocked "I'll talk to her, hey listen I know this isn't a great time to talk about this but I have spoken to my lawyer about Jett and they have advised that I have a DNA test, to avoid any paternity disputes when anything happens to you"

"You're asking for a DNA test?" Courtney exclaimed she seemed annoyed.

"I know its crap but…" Brax quickly tried to make things right with her.

"Brax relax its fine, I understand, you can't just take my word for it" Courtney smiled Brax was relieved she understood "Just do one thing for me, don't tell Jett what you are doing, he's only just let you in"

"Ok yeah that's fine" Brax replied "Do you need help to you're door?"

"Oh what you mean all that way over there" Courtney replied with sarcasm in her voice "I think I can managed them few steps"

"Alright well I'll come and pick up Jett tomorrow" Brax added as he watched Courtney get out of the Ute, she seemed to be walking quite delicately.

x-x-x-x

Courtney took a deep breath as she walked into the lounge she didn't want Jett to see the pain she was in "Can I go and help Brax and VJ?" Jett seemed excited.

"Yes mate no go and get ready for bed" Courtney gasped as she made her way into the kitchen and pulled out some prescribed painkillers. As Courtney pulled a glass out of the cupboard she came over all dizzy she fell to the ground. The glass smashed as it fell out of Courtney's hand. Jett came rushing out of his bedroom in his jeans and PJ t-shirt "Mum" he cried when he saw Courtney laid on the floor "I'll call 000" he said as he helped Courtney to her feet and walked her to the sofa.

Courtney could feel the room spin as she waited for the ambulance Jett sat next to her and held her hand "Its ok mum, they'll be here soon" he reassured her.

Jett decided to call Brax when they arrived at the hospital, Brax didn't take long to arrive "Hey I'm looking for Courtney James" Brax said as he approached a nurse.

"I'm sorry we don't have anybody of that name here" the nurse replied.

"Oh hey Brax" Jett interrupted from a side room "Its ok he's with us" Jett smiled at the nurse before leading Brax into Courtney's room.

"Are you ok?" Brax asked curiously, he couldn't hide his concern from the young mum "Have they said what's happened?"

"Just a virus and a bit anaemic" Courtney replied "I should be able to go home tomorrow"

"Oh that's good, not having a virus but…" Brax stuttered.

"I know what you mean, hey listen I know its short notice but can Jett stay with you tonight, its just I don't want him going to a temp foster carer" Courtney asked.

"Er…yeah that's fine" Brax replied a little cautiously. Brax wasn't worried about Jett stopping with him, he was thinking about the fact he hadn't told Heath or Casey he had a son yet. Maybe now would be a good time he thought to himself.

x-x-x-x-x

Jett followed Brax cautiously into he lounge of the Braxton's house, Casey and Heath were sat watching some late night comedy show when they arrived "Hey" Casey frowned as he looked up and saw the nervous looking boy stood beside his brother.

"I need to talk to you both for a minute, hey Jett why don't you take your bag into the room on the left" Brax pointed to his bedroom.

"Brax what's going on, who's the kid?" Heath asked as he watched Jett disappear into Brax's room.

"His name is Jett and he is going to be stopping with us tonight" Brax explained.

"What for" Heath frowned "Why can't his family look after him"

"We are his family" Brax said as he took a deep breath.

"Huh" Casey finally joined the conversation "How?"

"He's your nephew?" Brax said bluntly.

"Wait are you saying Jett is you're son?" Casey exclaimed trying to get his head around Brax's news.

"Yeh" Brax replied.

"Are you sure mate? I mean his mum could be lying. Who is his mum?" Heath asked.

"Courtney James" As Brax answered he watched as Heath's eye brows rose.

"Shit" Heath sighed as he thought about the young girl Brax used to date during High School. As soon as Brax said her name Heath knew there was no doubt, the Courtney Heath remembered would never lie about something like this.

"So why isn't Courtney taking care of him?" Casey wondered.

"She is, but she can't tonight because she is in hospital. She's got cervical cancer" Brax explained causing Heath and Casey to share a glance.

"Poor kid" Heath said under his breath "Have they said how long her recovery will take?"

Brax just shook his head "There is no recovery; Courtney isn't going to get better. She's been given 6 months to a year"

"Jesus, no wonder the kids messed up" Heath said without thinking causing a reaction from Brax.

"Watch your mouth, he ain't messed up" Brax defended Jett instinctively.

"Sorry" Heath quickly apologised when he saw how furious Brax was.

Brax just let it go when he saw Jett waling back into the lounge "You alright mate?"

"Yeah, err my phones just died and mum said she would call me later" Jett said nervously as he waited for a reply.

"Oh right here use mine" Brax offered Jett his phone out of his pocket. Jett smile as he took the phone.

"Thanks" he said "Is it ok to take it in the room?"

"Yeah sure" Brax replied.

"Yeah just don't do a runner out the window with it" Heath couldn't help himself. His smile quickly disappeared when he saw the look on Brax's face. Brax relaxed a little though when he realised Jett was laughing.

"Nah I don't take phones. You might want to keep hold of your wallet though" Jett said as he looked straight at Heath. Casey and Brax shared a glance as they listened to Jett's quick witted response.

It was obvious to them all now that this kid was definitely a Braxton.

**Sorry I haven't updated for a while but I haven't been ill. Luckily I am on the mend now though so I decided to add this chapter.**

**Hope this chapter was ok, please review and let me know. Much love as always Nikki x x**


	6. Connection

**To all my fantastic readers I am so sorry for my lack of reviews, but unfortunately I have been in hospital for a few weeks with a kidney infection. I really hope ow things have finally sorted themselves. **

**I am currently working on chapters for all of my stories and am hoping to have updated them all by the weekend. So please bear with me if I haven't updated you favourite story today I will be doing in the next few days.**

It had been almost two weeks since Courtney came home from hospital. Jett had gone back home and Brax was trying to help out as much as possible.

Brax had gone round to see Courtney with some information he had been waiting for, the results of the paternity test. Brax walked into the house and was surprised when he couldn't find Courtney, it wasn't until he looked out of the back window that he spotted her, she was in the yard grooming one of her horses.

Brax was a little saddened as he watched the shadow of the woman he remembered, she was half her size now almost like a walking skeleton with skin, he hair was thinner and her skin wasn't the glowing bronze it used to be. It was more translucent now, Courtney was sick and it had become more obvious over the last few weeks.

Brax gathered his thoughts and took a deep breath before he opened the back door and walked out into the yard towards Courtney "Hey what are you doing here?" Courtney smiled as she continued to brush the horse. Courtney was wearing a pair of denim cut off shorts and a loose fitting red check shirt, which practically buried her tiny frame.

"I came to show you this, it came this morning" Brax replied as he waved the piece of paper at her.

"Oh is that?" Courtney said before being cut off mid sentence.

"The results" Brax sighed "Yes its official, I have a son"

"Phew that's a relief, at least I don't need to track down the other 10 possible fathers" Courtney joked "I'm kidding, hey I'm going for a ride did you want to join me" she asked Brax as she put a saddle on the horse she had brushed.

"What you want me to get on the back of that horse with you?" Brax seemed amused by Courtney's suggestion.

"Yeah why not?" Courtney frowned "Oh my god you have never ridden before have you"

Brax shook his head "Nah and I don't plan on starting now"

"You do if you're planning to raise my son" Courtney laughed "Oh come on the leader of the River Boys cannot seriously be scared of horses"

"He's our son" Brax corrected "And no I'm not scared it's just I'm err…"

"Scared" Courtney teased "I have lost count of the amount of times I've been on the back of your trail bikes in the past. A horse is a piece of cake, oh come on…Don't you trust me" Courtney mocked sulking "Live a little"

"Ok fine" Brax finally gave in, he couldn't help but smile as he watched Courtney doing a little victory dance "You big kid" he laughed.

x-x-x

Leah pulled up slowly outside the house; she was hoping she had the right one. Courtney and Leah had forged some kind of friendship over the last few weeks. They didn't have much of a choice seeing as their son's had started to spend lot of time together.

Leah had driven over to Courtney's house to bring Courtney some groceries, she waited on the front porch patiently for someone to answer the door, but no-one did. It wasn't until she turned that she noticed Brax's Ute parked along the side of the house, it was then she heard the laughing coming from the back of the house.

As Leah walked into the back yard she was less than impressed to arrive just in time to see Brax helping Courtney down off the horse, he had his hands resting on Courtney's hips and they were both laughing "Oh my god you're face" Courtney laughed as she looked up at Brax.

"Yeah well we don't need to tell anyone about this" Brax frowned, suddenly their was a moment that Courtney and Brax stopped laughing and just looked at eachother for a few minutes.

"Relax your secrets safe with me" Courtney smiled as she pulled away awkwardly and grabbed the horse's reigns "Oh hi Leah" Courtney added as she led the horse back inside the stable.

"Hi" Leah said with a small smile, she was a little annoyed by what she had seen "Hello Brax, what are you doing here?"

"Oh I just came by to show Courtney this. It's the results of the paternity test" Brax smiled as he showed Leah the papers. Leah's heart sank a little as she read the papers **Darryl Sean Braxton IS the Biological Father of Jett James.**

"Oh that's great" Leah replied with a fake grin. Secretly Leah was hoping that Jett wasn't Brax's son, she had seen how well Brax and Courtney had connected over the weeks and if she was honest she had to admit she was a little jealous of how close they seemed, and the fact they shared history didn't help either.

"Did you want to come inside for a drink?" Courtney asked a she walked out of the stable.

"Er no thank you I have to get back to work, I have just come to bring you a few things from the grocery store" Leah smiled "Its just some milk, bread and a few treats for Jett"

"Oh thanks Leah, you're a star" Courtney smiled "I'll get my purse"

"A personal shopper can't be bad" Brax teased.

"Yeah well what can I say" Courtney replied with a smile before walking inside the house.

Leah waited for Courtney to disappear before turning to Brax "Do you think you're doing the right thing, getting into this" Leah frowned at a shocked Brax.

"What horse riding?" he replied with an amused tone.

"No, this…this thing with Courtney" Leah snapped a little.

"What thing?" Brax was clueless "I'm just helping out"

"Really and she knows that's all it is does she?" Leah spat, something had taken over her all of a sudden.

"What's this really about?" Brax asked it then dawned on him "Look I thought I'd already told you I wasn't interested in anyone like that right now, I'm still getting over Charlie"

"Here you go Leah?" Courtney interrupted as she handed Leah some money, she hadn't heard the conversation between Leah and Brax "Are you sure you won't come in for a drink or some lunch?"

"No thank you I have to get back" Leah replied not taking her eyes off Brax "I hope you know what you're doing" she added before turning and walking out of the back yard.

"Ok so what was that about?" Courtney frowned as she turned to Brax.

"Nothing, just Leah being Leah" Brax replied "Hey what was that I heard about lunch"

"Always thinking about your stomach, I see that hasn't changed" she giggled as she walked inside the house. Brax followed closely behind her.

x-x-x

"So what do you want?" Courtney asked as she washed her hands and opened the fridge door.

"How about Pizza?" Barx suggested "I'll get one delivered"

"Yeah ok, Pizza sounds perfect" Courtney smiled as she sat on the sofa next to Brax, she waited for him to dial Angelo's and order a pizza before continuing "So now you have your paperwork what did you want to do next?"

"Well I've already asked my lawyer to draw up some kind of legal documents for you to sign in regards of what will happen to Jett after…" Brax trailed off, he found it hard to say the words.

"Good" Courtney quickly replied "It'll be nice not having to worry about what will happen to him"

Brax frowned as Courtney went quiet "You ok?" he could see the tears in he eyes.

"Yeah it's just when I think about him growing up and the things I'm going to miss I…"

"Hey come here" Brax sighed as he pulled Courtney into a tight hug, he could feel her tears soaking through his shirt.

"I'm sorry you don't need to see me like this" Courtney quickly remembered herself and pulled away, she wiped the tears with the palm of her hand.

"Its fine" Brax sighed "I want to help you"

Courtney couldn't help but laugh a little when Brax said this.

"What?" he wondered curiously.

"What the hell happened to you?" she smiled as she cocked her head to one side.

"I fell in love with the right woman I guess" Brax shrugged, and then his face saddened as he remembered the beautiful woman he had lost.

"I'm sorry, I didn't meant to bring up bad memories" Courtney apologised "I know when Tyler died I felt like I had lost everything. I swear if it wasn't for Jett then I probably would have given up by now. Funny thing is it wasn't until I found out I was dying that I realised I had so much to live for" Courtney reached over and put her hand on top of Brax's "Life's for the living babe, don't spend to long dwelling on the past I'm sure that's the last thing she'd want"

Courtney's words reached out to Brax and for the first time he realised it was ok for him to get on with his life, no matter what happened Charlie would still be a big part of it.

**Please review and let me know what you thought love Nikki xx**


	7. Meeting the Family

"Jett come on mate we'll be late" Courtney called up the stairs to her son.

They were getting ready for a BBQ at the Braxton's house; Brax thought it would be a good idea for Jett to be introduced to his family properly. Courtney smiled as she watched Jett walk into the room wearing a pair of dark jeans and a blue check shirt "This is too much isn't it?"

"You look great baby" Courtney smiled "But boardies and a t-shirt would be fine"

"Have I got time to change?" Jett wondered.

"Yeah" Courtney nodded as she slumped down on the sofa and waited for Jett to come down stairs again. When he reappeared he was wearing a pair of black board shorts and a yellow t-shirt.

"Lets get this over with then" Jett sighed as he looked at his mum.

"Hey just relax" Courtney said as she put her arm around Jett "You're a Braxton remember, they'll love you"

"I hope your right" Jett said finally before following his mum towards the car that was parked on the drive.

x-x-x

"Please don't probe him and pump him mum" Brax frowned at Cheryl who was pulling some kind of salad out of the fridge "And since when did you eat salad?"

"Well I want to show Courtney we are more than capable of looking after the kid when she's gone" Cheryl shrugged as she put the salad on a tray with some sauces and carried them into the back yard.

"Firstly mum he is more than just the kid, his name is Jett and secondly please be nice to Courtney I know you guys never saw eye to eye when we were together"

"Alright I'll watch my p's and q's ok" Cheryl frowned.

"Ok they're here" Brax said as he watched Courtney pull up outside the house.

x-x-x

"Relax mum, I'm sure it'll be ok. And if its not we can just leave" Jett smile when he realised how nervous his mum seemed.

"Yeah I know, it's just the last time I was here, Cheryl…your Gran threw me out" Courtney sighed as she though to back to the last time in the house. Courtney's attention was quickly restored when she spotted Brax coming out of the house.

"Hey Brax" Jett beamed as he jumped out of the car and walked towards the house "Mum's nervous"

"Jett" Courtney gasped as she watched her son smile widely at her before disappearing inside the house.

"Well he definitely has the Braxton confidence" Brax laughed as he walked to the house with a very worried looking Courtney "It'll be fine I promise"

"I hope you're right, your mum hated me at the best of times" she replied as she took a deep breath and followed Brax inside the house.

"Mum you remember Courtney" Brax reintroduced Courtney t his mum.

"Hi Cheryl" Courtney winced as she waited for some kind of angry or harsh reply.

"Hi it's good to see you again" Cheryl smiled almost sincerely "Thank you for bringing my grandson to see me…even if it did take 13 years…"

"Mum" Brax warned.

"Well I'm only saying it would have been nice to have been introduced to him sooner" Cheryl replied as she looked at Jett "So do you like surfing Jett?"

"Yeah I love it" jet replied quite excitedly.

"Well that's good, you'll it right in with the boys then" Cheryl smiled "Now come and help your old Nan take this outside"

Brax and Courtney both smiled as they watched Jett follow Cheryl outside, Heath and Casey were already waiting "I am sorry I didn't get in touch sooner" Courtney apologised quietly.

"Nah you did the right thing keeping him away from me, we both now what I was like back then, you did an awesome job raising him without me, if I was around maybe he wouldn't have turned out so great" Brax said as he continued to watch Jett helping Heath with the BBQ "How are you feeling now anyway I haven't had chance to ask you"

"Yeah not bad" Courtney sighed as she sat down on a chair at the table "Just tired you know" she added with a smile.

"Well if there is anything you need, you know where I am. You don't have to be by yourself court" Brax sat down next to her "Let me help you" he added as he put his hand on top of hers causing Courtney to frown at him. She quickly moved her hand away.

"I'd better go and see if I can help your mum with anything" she smiled as she stood up quickly "I don't want her to have another reason to hate me"

X-x-x

Later into the evening Brax and Courtney were left alone again in the kitchen to clear up, Courtney was laughing at Heath and Casey trying to tackle Jett at Soccer "He'll beat them you know" Courtney giggled "He's the best in his team"

"He's in a footy team?" Brax replied.

"Yeah ever since he was 8 he loves footy and any other kind of sports really" Courtney explained "And don't worry he has the Braxton gene when it comes to surfing too"

"Yeah…I'll have to take him out some time then" Brax replied before his face fell a little "I wish it didn't have to be this way, I'm only just getting to know you again" he added as he brushed some hair from off Courtney's face "I'll never forgive myself for the way I treated you back then, I had no idea what I was throwing away"

Before Courtney could reply Brax leant forward and kissed Courtney's lips gently, Courtney returned the kiss for a few moments before pulling away quickly "I can't do this I'm sorry"

"Courtney…" Brax tried but Courtney cut him off.

"I'm dying Brax and nothing is going to change that" Courtney said sadly "I can't get caught up in something like this now, it'll just complicate everything and that's not fair on me, you or Jett" Courtney added as she rushed into the back yard and sat down next to Cheryl. Brax rested his hands on the kitchen work top and watched Courtney chatting to his mum.

X-x-x

"I still can't believe all this is happening" a voice interrupted, Brax looked up and saw Casey standing next to him "I never thought Courtney would walk back into our lives, never mind introduce us to our nephew and you son"

"Yeah it is a bit surreal" Brax frowned as he continued to watch Courtney through the window.

"You still have that spark you know" Casey grinned when he realised what Brax was looking at "I've seen the way you guys look at eachother"

"Oh come on Case, its not like we can do anything about that" Brax replied as he looked away from Courtney "She's dying"

"Yeah but she's not dead yet" Casey replied honestly "Do you honestly want to spend the rest of your life regretting what could have been, tell her how you feel before its too late, ike you said before she doesn't have long"

Brax frowned, how could his youngest brother give such good advice? He was right though, Brax couldn't keep hiding the way he felt about Courtney, he wasn't sure what had happened but for some reason his old feelings for this young woman were haunting him.

**Please review and let me know what you think, do you like where I am going with this?**


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